December Greetings

December has been a fun month for us! We have been able to spend time with family and friends, we have had plenty of mouth watering (and calorie laden) goodies to partake of and we were showered with wonderful gifts from ole Saint Nick.

We started our December off with dinner at Carole and Alma's. The past few years they have had us over for a tree decorating party. Carole provides a delicious dinner and then we all work together putting up her tree. It is a fun evening where the guys get to use their brawn and the girls their decorating talents!!

On December 19th all of Rob's family got together to celebrate Rob's Dads 75th birthday party. All of the family was there but one grandchild. As soon as I get pictures back from the photographer I will blog some of the evening

Christmas Eve we had Rob's parents and two of his sisters and there family over for dinner. I am not sure why but none of us thought to take pictures!

Christmas Day the kids showed up about 11:00 and we opened presents, played WII, napped, had a yummy dinner and then played some more. Below are some pictures from Christmas Day.

Jared waiting his turn to open a present!

He got tired of waiting and decided to give Cassidy a hair cut!! Silly boy!!!

Brandy is much more prim and proper than her brother!!

We decided that it doesn't take much to excite Cassidy - just give her an insulated lunch box or a potato masher and she is thrilled!!

Dave is struggling with who to support - Auburn or Alabama, but little Cooper will be toasty warm in this Auburn blanket and hat!!

Cooper is not even here yet but Santa still brought him this cute fire engine full of goodies - think he is going to be spoiled????

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our family to yours!!!

October and November Happenings

I have said it before but you can definitely tell how busy I have been by how often I update my blog. It seems like the past two months have gone by in a blur!! October started off great but went down hill very quickly. October 5th we found out that our little bundle of joy that will be arriving in February is going to be an adorable little boy. We are so excited for his arrival. But two days after this announcement Dave's (our son-in-law) mother past away unexpectedly. It was devastating news to his family and all that knew his amazing Mother. Then a week after that I came down with the flu - the doctor said it was H1N1. Fortunately Rob had a business trip planned that week so I did not have to worry about him getting sick so I got to spend the week home alone in bed. A week after I recovered from the flu guess what happens - I come down with pneumonia! By the end of October I was so tired of being sick!

As most of you know I love Halloween and even with Rob encouraging me to cancel my annual Halloween bash, I decided sickness or no sickness the Halloween party must go on!! So Halloween night we were joined by the Blues Brothers, a Wal-Mart greeter, a 60's girl, a beautiful princess, a rock-n-roller, a doctor and her cowboy, Jon and Kate, a couple of hippies with their lady bug, a baker with his bun in the oven, a monkey and a dinosaur. It was definitely a different group of people to have all together in one house, but it sure was fun!!


Once Halloween was over I started getting ready for Christmas. We planned to go to Alabama for Thanksgiving to move my Mom from the house that she had lived in for almost 60 years in the country into a home in town so I wanted all my shopping done for Alabama so I could take it with me. In addition to Christmas shopping I also wanted to get my house decorated for Christmas before we left so thanks to the wonderful elves in my life (named Rob, Brandy, Dave, Jared and Cass) we were able to get all that done by November 16th.

Rob and I left for Alabama on November 21st and spent a busy week helping my Mom get settled into her new home. It is a beautiful home and we are so excited to have her in town with neighbors to help keep an eye on her. Below is a picture of her new home.

While there I got to spend some time with my cute little niece Amy.

Below is a picture of me, my sister June and my Mom on Thanksgiving Day. Aren't we the cutest?!?!

I am so grateful that Rob and I were able to go to Alabama and help get my Mom settled in her new home. It was a very tiring trip but also a very rewarding trip for us. But most of all we are glad to be back in our own home!!!!!

Little Tams

We have lived in our home for 22 years and during that time we have watched little Tammy Thompson grow from a cute little 18 month old with pig tails into a beautiful young lady. So with her first little one due in December Brandy and I (along with the Hortin girls and Roslyn) decided to give her a baby shower. It was fun to reminisce about her growing up years (she lives in Nebraska now so we don't get to chat very often), to see her with a little baby belly, to visit with all those that attended the shower, and to see the cute things she received for little Walker or Caden (they haven't decided which name yet). We are excited for the arrival of her little boy and only wish that she still lived across the street so we could spoil him like we all spoiled her when she was little!

Amazing Friends

I have been blessed to have amazing friends from all over the world. A few weeks ago my friend from Iran married the man of her dreams. She had always wanted a beach wedding so she chose the beach of Bear Lake to be married on. Below is a picture of my dear friend Roshan and my dear friend Emma (who is from the Philippines) on Roshan's wedding day.


These women are great examples to me and I am so grateful for there friendship!!

McDreamy

I have been a fan of Patrick Dempsey, commonly known as McDreamy (and star of Enchanted and Maid of Honor) for a long time. So when I heard that he was going to be racing at the Miller Motorsports Park for the third year in a row and we were offered free tickets to the race I was more than happy to go!! So on race day Rob and I drove out to the racetrack with Rob excited for a great race and some amazing pictures and me excited to see my big screen heart throb. Once arriving we get a program, found some great seats and then I proceed to read the program that I had just been handed. From the program I found out that Dempsey's car was a Mazda RX 8 and it was number 40. Then the farther I read in the program I discovered that McDreamy WOULD NOT be racing (something due to a movie he was working on and couldn't get away for the race) but that his team mates would actually be driving the shiny silver #40. Well my heart was crushed and I had no desire to even walk over to the pit (where if he would have been there I would have been able to get a picture of that cute face) but my sweet, even cuter husband, went over and took some pictures for me while I stayed in my seat and pouted! Even without the owner of car #40 there it was still a great day spent with the love of my life and watching seventy men act like boys as they drove around a track for 2 hours and 45 minutes in loud, fast cars. And I must admit that after watching them I had just a little desire to get in one of those loud, fast cars and go for a little spin myself!!





The Dempsey car - #40


Don't you think it resembles McDreamy just a little?

OUR LABOR DAY JOURNEY

We started the summer off by going to Park City for three nights with the whole fam over Memorial Day weekend. So with summer coming to a close we decided there would be no better way to end it than to go to Vegas for three nights with our kids (plus we got a great deal on a condo)! So last Saturday we all piled into the van and headed for our first stop along the way - Beaver, Utah where we had the best french toast in the world at the Paradise Restaurant. After filling out tummies we headed to our final destination - the Marriott Chateau just off the strip in Vegas! Dave's brother lives in Henderson, Nevada so he was able to get us free tickets to Nathan Burton (a magician) who was a amazing to watch (the best part of the show was when they had Dave come onto the stage and dressed him as a woman. Unfortunately they would not let us take pictures so we do not have any proof that this actually happened and Dave would probably deny that it happened if you ask him!) His brother also got us tickets to an impersonator named Larry G. Jones. I fell in love with his show and would highly recommend it to anyone. And the best part is that he is from Opelika, Alabama!!

We were able to shop, went to the Hoover Dam, did a little swimming, napped, watched some DVDs and did A LOT of eating! We even went to Serendipity 3 for a yummy frozen hot chocolate (my cousin Michelle had recommended it own her blog). And of course Jared and Dave were able to get in a game of basketball with Dave's brother and his friends. It was a great three days spent with our little family. Brandy and Dave commented on the way home that this would probably be the last trip that we would all be able to take in one vehicle because when the baby comes there will be to much baby paraphernalia to fit in the van with all the rest of our luggage. The realization hit that our family trips will be totally different come February but we are excited for this new little addition that is coming into our family and all the changes he/she will bring.

Rob didn't take any pictures so I have none to post of our Labor Day trip but just know we had a great time!

The End of a Tradition

Rob and I have been blessed with amazing neighbors. For the past 10 years (except for the few occasions that we were out of town) we have hosted a Neighborhood Fourth of July Party. It is great being surrounded by our neighborhood family, having great food, fireworks, volleyball, basketball, and yes even waterballon fights while celebrating this wonderful country that we live in. Before the kids were married they helped us prepare for this big event. But since they have moved out it is just Rob and I preparing to have 50 people at our home and it has become alot of work. So this year when we were setting up Rob and I both came to the conclusion that it was time to end the Olsen Fourth of July Neighborhood Party. So as we end this tradition, I am already thinking of what new tradition I can start so I can spend time with my neighbors!! Below are a couple pictures from our final party!


Kenny and Marie are the best!!


We have been getting together for the 4th of July since before Kenzie and Caden were born!!


These are the best backdoor neighbors that anyone could ever have!!

As you can tell the women in the neighbor really like to talk!!


The Thomson's are a true blessing to our neighborhood!

All In A Name!

Can the world really handle another JARED???

Jared still occasionally gets mail at our house. This past week he received a letter from a little girl on his mission that he had not heard from in several years. He was really close to her family when he served in the California San Jose Mission. She wrote that her Mother had recently had another child and that they had named the baby boy after Jared. Jared was thrilled! As we all sat around talking (Brandy, Dave, Jared, Cass, Rob and myself) it came out that Dave had a family that had named there newborn son after him on his mission, that Cassidy had a family that she use to babysit name a baby girl after her, that Brandy got her name from a little girl that Rob knew on his mission, my name came from the Tammy movie and Rob was the third generation of Robert's in his family (you can tell with Jared's name that Rob did not want to have a fourth generation)! Isn't it interesting how we get our names!!

TamTam and Rob

I have always told the kids that I will "tell them" when I am old enough to be a grandmother and then they could consider having kids. Well I guess they got tired of waiting for me to get old enough and decided that Rob was old enough (you know he is MUCH older than me :) to be a grandpa because for his birthday in July Brandy and Dave gave him a package that contained a cute little baby onesie that said "Worth the Wait" on it! To say the least we are all very excited. Even though we have known since July 7th Brandy had asked that I not blog about it until she had spoken personally with all the people she wanted to tell so finally this week she gave me the go ahead to blog about the exciting news. Her official due date is February 21 (Uncle Jared's only request is that the "little rug rat" doesn't come on his birthday which is February 13th). And since this is our first grandchild Rob and I get to decide what we want to be called. I have always said that I want to be called TamTam (Dave already calls me that) and when we asked Rob he said "ROB". I have a feeling he will change his mind though!!

Brandy was able to go to Alabama with us in July so she could tell all her Alabama relatives in person. June (my sister) held a little luncheon in Brandy's honor with the most adorable cake topped with a sleeping baby. All those in attendance wrote advise for the Mother-to-be.

I have also decided that in addition to showers for the Mother-to-be that there needs to be a shower for the TamTam-to-be because this little bundle of joy is going to be expensive for me since I have to set up a nursery at my house, get a car seat, stroller, diapers, man the list goes on and on!! Do you get the sense that we are just a little excited for the arrival of this little one!!!

Chicago

Every other August Rob has a Credit Research Foundation Meeting (he is on the Board of Trustees) in Chicago. Rob is in meetings pretty much the entire time so when I go with him I get to site see all by myself. So a few years ago we took Brandy and Dave with us so I would have someone to shop Michigan Avenue with (it is a shoppers paradise) and to share the sights with. So this year we invited Jared and Cass to come along and be my touring companions. I had a great time showing them around a city that I love. I would move to downtown Chicago in a heartbeat (if I had experienced a winter there I might have a different opinion).

The architecture of the buildings in downtown Chicago is amazing.

There is no other place that I know where you can go and get spit on by a real Chicagoan and have it feel as cool and relaxing as it does than at Millennium Park.

The Godmother of Chicago - Ms. Oprah Winfrey's studio.

I have already told Brandy and Dave and Jared and Cass that when they have a little girl that TamTam will be taking them to Chicago to the American Girl Place store. You can have your doll's hair done, ears pierced, they even have a hospital for dolls that have broken limbs, you can have lunch with your doll and last but not least you can buy matching outfits for you and your doll.

We went on a Mobster Tour of Chicago where we learned all about the mobsters that use to run the Windy City (by the way did you know that Chicago got the name the Windy City not because it is windy but because Chicagoan's really like to talk).

Jared and Cassidy went to the top of the Sears Tower and went out on the glass platform. Not me - I kept my feet firmly on the ground!!!

Can't wait for a return trip!!

CONGRATULATIONS MY SON, MY SON

This congratulations post is a little late in coming. Jared graduated from the University of Utah in May and when we asked if he wanted a big graduation party he said no just dinner at Tepanyaki with the fam and that is exactly what he got - well that along with a big Craftsman stand alone tool box for his many tools!! We are so proud of Jared and his great accomplishments. He is a great son, husband (I hope), brother, provider, and example to all that know him. Plus I think he is pretty darn cute, but then I am a little prejudice!



The U of U Graduate...

....with his biggest fan club...


...and his adorable little wife!

Jared wants the big CELEBRATION to be when he completes his MBA which he will be starting here in a few weeks and I assure you we will have a BIG party (if that is okay with Cass) when he is done!!

Just a side note, Rob and I have had to swallow a lot of pride since we are both BYU Alumni to support the U of U, but that wasn't to hard to do since our daughter, daughter-in-law, son and son-in-law are all graduates of the U of U and they are pretty awesome people. Go Utes, unless you are playing BYU :)

The Good Ole South!

I have so many fond memories of growing up in the south. Every Easter my Dad's family would get together at the Banks Community Center for a potluck dinner and Easter egg hunt. When we drove by the Community Center this trip I made Rob stop and take a picture of it! It may not look like much to you but it is full of memories for me.

We went to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried and we ran across this headstone that we all found interesting. Have you ever known an Indian Fighter before?

Going to the south would never be complete without a fish fry or shrimp boil. Well my brother went all out and did both for us this trip. For a shrimp boil you take your red potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage and shrimp and put in a waterproof bag (he used an orange bag) and put into a boiling pot full of water with a special seasoning (I brought some of the seasoning home so we could have our own shrimp boil since Jared wasn't there to partake).



It is definitely some good eatin!

Another "have to do" for Rob when we visit the south is to eat at the Waffle House. Here is a picture of me, Brandy and my sister-in-law outside the "high class" restaurant called Waffle House.

And last but not least my other brother! He is a sweetheart but he is also the biggest "REDNECK" you will ever find! I sure love him!

We had a great trip to Alabama. It was so much fun visiting with family, friends and reminiscing about days gone by. I miss living close to my family but I am so grateful that my kids have been able to experience just a little of what my life was like growing up in the true Heart of Dixie. Roll Tide Roll and War Eagle y'all!!!!!!